Sunday, July 27, 2008

As many of you know, I spend countless hours researching the leading edge, most beautiful, wonderful photographic products. I want only the best for my clients and I make it a point to offer nothing less.

High end albums have been something I have wrestled with quite a lot. Its difficult to manage cost when you expect nothing less than stellar top of the line product. Add in the splash of fresh edgyness that modern photography enthusiasts demand, and you have a recipe for a tough cookie.

So how do you get a fantastic heirloom album, that is classic yet modern, and will last a lifetime, without shelling out almost $1000 and shipment from some posh place in Europe?

You come up with something BRILLIANT.

Introducing the new Brilliant Album. Its a modern twist on a classic album- incorporating innovative brilliant metallic image wraps and classic heirloom album books.

While we are not replacing high end one of a kind hand made imported leather all out awesome custom albums we offer, we are now offering this new heirloom book that gives you quality without sacrificing style or your pocketbook. For those that want a more classic feel, it comes in supple leather too, which we are also offering- photos coming soon!

One thing is for sure...this is not your grandparent's album. While the example here is a wedding book, these make gorgeous keepsakes for portrait sessions (seniors, I am talking to you!), baby's first year, or even super cool guest books!

Aptly named, these books are purely Brilliant in every way... Even the box is beautiful!

The books are something special. An image wraps the outside, making the cover as unique as the images the book contains. The cover is metallic, much like our favorite pro lab prints, and has a glimmering, gleaming, printed on liquid silver sort of look. The metallic look also gives the cover image dimension and depth! Stunning and unfortunately, hard to accurately share in a photo or describe. I recommend seeing to believe here.

So far, the reaction from everyone holding it in their hands has been pure awe. My husband was impressed- and thats saying something...it takes a LOT to impress him when hes had to look over every single option I have ever wanted an opinion on. My sister came over, looked through it and demanded I "make a book like that with [her] portraits in it". It turns heads and makes a big impact on pretty much everyone who sees it. Its cool.

The books themselves, like any quality album are masterfully handcrafted. Beautiful and flawless. Every attention to detail has been made. High quality prints make up the books pages, beautifully mounted for strength. Truly this is a book to last a lifetime.

When open, it lays flat, almost as if you were looking at a continuous lab print on your wall. You loose none of the image to that pesky dissapearing gutter and curved pages. Instead its all there for you to see in rich detail.

The page gaps are TINY. Minuscule. Heck, you would hardly notice them. This means big things for album spreads. Larger images have greater impact. Think about it...how awesome is it to open your National Geographic and see a beautiful spread of the rain forest or an ocean? Same idea...breath taking!\We love it. Its shiny, beautiful, classic and modern. And, its a lot more affordable than options previously offered for high end albums. Did we mention its shiny?

In the end, the result is something beautiful to look at not only today but when the wedding is over, the kids are grown, the earth has turned and time has worn on. It will be there. Its a Brilliant album, and lets face it, everyone could use a little something brilliant in their lives.